


Promise

by xxAriaxx



Category: Sister Princess - 公野櫻子 | Kimino Sakurako
Genre: Angst, F/F, F/M, False Memories, Gen, Hidden Truth, Lost Childhood, M/M, Memories, Multi, Mystery, No Incest, One Brother Many Sisters, Sad Story, Sibling Bonding, Sibling attention, Siblings struggles, Sister Bond, Sisterly Love, Supernatural Elements, just platonic family love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-23
Updated: 2018-07-17
Packaged: 2019-01-21 18:05:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12463041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxAriaxx/pseuds/xxAriaxx
Summary: For several years, her brother abandoned her, seemingly dismissing her existence. Then one day, they are whisked away to an unknown island. As she and her brother adjust to life on the island, Yomi found herself asking questions: who are these girls who claim to be her sisters, and how come Yomi finds herself dreaming of a childhood where she has been with these girls... when Yomi had seemingly spent her entire life in Tokyo with her brother?





	1. To a New Home With Him

**Author's Note:**

> This fanfic has been published on FF back in February 2015, but I'm revising all of the chapters written from back then. This chapter is the revised first chapter.

Another day of nothingness goes on. Just another day where I laze around in the house and do my everyday surfing on the net and reading whatever manga I ordered. Another day where my butler works, and my parents are who-knows-where they travel to next, while he go on, believing that by acting smart, he'd be in the perfect high school he'd always dreamed of.

I hate him.

For months, I've waited for him to come and play with me, his younger twin sister, his flesh and blood. But fate was not kind to me. One day, he and I were playing happily as children, and the next thing I knew, he was too focused studying, trying so hard to enroll in some private school I couldn't even go into, as only boys can attend. Then, the next thing I knew...

I no longer exist in his eyes.

For days, I tried to get his attention. I've begged him to play with me again, I've barged into his room and tried to pull him away from his desk, I've tried to scare his friends away…

It was all in vain. And soon, I started to hate him.

While my friends had suddenly stopped talking to me, he's happily chatting away with his friends Minai and Akio as I attempt to wipe my tears away with no one near me, not wanting to admit that I hated being alone. When I had walked next to him, trying to get his attention, he was standing right next to me, so focused on reading his textbook to even bother to notice me. I have even stood outside his door, and I have knocked over and over. Instead of responding to me, he kept studying, as always. I even stopped going to school and changed myself just to see if he will noticed me.

He never did.

…  
…  
…

I should stop thinking about my relationship with him. Seriously, reading that manga, Baby Princess, was a horrible idea. Seeing those girls holding onto their long lost brother just had to remind me of my relationship with my brother, if it even exists anymore.

Setting the darn book down on my desk, I decid that taking a walk inside my house was a better idea. Indeed, it is a good way to let my stress out. I stand from my chair, bolt to my door, open it, and leave my room.

Today is another boring day in the house. My brother is out doing whatever he cares to do. My butler is out shopping. My parents are on another business trip. Once again, I'm all alone in the house. Fine by me. I've been alone for a while now, so this is nothing.  
But it's so boring, the same, god damn routine every day. I want something new to happen.

Or maybe I'm just desperate for someone's attention. Seriously, I should have never quit school and became a hermit, solely for the sake of earning his attention. Several years of locking myself in the house has left me realizing that I made a dumb decision in throwing away my social life, especially as my intentions have all fallen down the drain. Sighing, I just keep walking forward while my hand starts playing with my silver, heart shaped necklace with angel wings on it.

"Yomi!"

“Yes!?”

Jumping at the sudden cry of my name, I fasten my pace, heading straight to the source, knowingly coming from the family room. Coming closer to the room, I slow my pace until my silent entrance into the room. My butler, or as I like to call him, Jiiya, is standing in the family room, waiting for me to arrive.

Besides Jiiya and I, other people in the room are my useless brother and…

What?

Who the hell are these two men? Dressed in suits, gawking over my brother, standing there with some look in their eyes when they stare at my brother, it looks like they want to devour him right on the spot.

I start to regret ever coming to the living room. If I have to stare at such a horrendous scene like that and be in the same room where the event is happening, then maybe being a hermit and trapping myself in my room isn't as bad of an idea as I have initially claimed it was.

"Miss Yomi," Jiiya's voice brings my attention back to him. "I've promised your father that I would take care of you and your brother until you graduated junior high school." Oops, maybe dropping out really is a bad idea, and now I am terrified to know what else he is going to say. "Now that you are starting high school in Stargazers West University, you will depart with those two men and travel with your brother to your new home."  
…  
…  
…  
What?  
…  
I'm sorry  
…  
What!?

Starting high school in Stargazers West University. 

Since when did I take an exam and applied to some school I have never heard of in my whole entire life!? And I have to go with those creepy men who are lusting at my brother!?

This is a joke, right?  
…  
…  
… Right!?

~~~

It wasn't.

It is not a joke at all. Instead, it's reality. It’s god damn reality!!

Here I am, Minakami Yomi, a fifteen-year-old socially deprived hermit, trapped in a truck with him. My no good, older, fraternal twin brother, Minakami Wataru, who is moping himself to a depression because he can't attend the school of his dreams with his dear Akio and beloved Minai, and continues to whine and cry over how unfair life his. About time he shares the pain I had to deal with the past year or two or however long it was.

And why am I dragged along in this!? First of all, I have never applied to any high school, and I never had any plans in attending one. What the hell is wrong with those men? Giving me those stupid eyes they gave my brother, going on about how great my nonexistent application to Stargazers West University was. Then the next thing I knew, my brother is thrown into a truck, his suitcase is thrown in there, smacking him straight in the face, then I get thrown in there, and my suitcase – how on earth did Jiiya packed all my belongings up in there in the span of five minutes!? – is thrown straight into the wall, bouncing back straight to my brother's head (I must admit that I laughed). Immediately afterwards, the back door is shut, those men go on to sit in the front, and drive off. And those guys are doing a goddamn awful job driving this truck, but hey, gives me the pleasure in watching my brother get smack with his own suitcase in addition to mine every time we get to a curve or a sudden stop.

Too bad it doesn't stop his whining over failing the exam to the school of his dreams. What's so special about some school? He's so stupid. Why the hell did he not apply to other schools in case a situation like this happens? It's his entire fault he and I are going to some unknown school now. 

But hey, I do find myself feeling a little pitiful towards him. I mean, he has always been dreaming of this school and suddenly failed his exam unexpectedly. With this thought, I decide to do something I never again: talk to my brother, attempt to comfort him over his failure, be the little sister I used to be when he used to be the big brother I loved back when we were children. Perhaps we can go back to those old days right at this very moment…

"You know," I start speaking, and for a moment, he grows quiet. My brother, who has ignored my existence for roughly five and a half years, finally chose to listen to me. "The high school exam isn't everything," I tell him with a small glint of happiness. For the first time in so long, maybe I can comfort my brother again, like I have in the past. Maybe he and I will get close together, and then he will realize that his twin is more important than some dumb school.

"It is everything! It means everything to me…" and there goes my hopes.

"Stupid," I respond, blood immediately boiling in my veins, and in response to his unwanted, idiotic, god fucking awful response, I stand up and grabbing my suitcase that has been near me, I release my rage, swinging my suitcase straight to his face in mighty fury. For the love of god, forget the god damn exam! I wanted to scream those words right now, and believe me, I was about to…

Except I may have hit him a little too hard… the moment his face had collided with my case, any consciousness he had already escaped his body. My brother has fallen to the floor of the truck, out cold.

"Useless," I murmur, and I set my suitcase down. Right when I have done so, cue another sudden stop, resulting in yours truly face planting the floor.

"Watch where you're going!" the men yell. I think they can yell those words to themselves as well, given this definitely wasn't the first time they stopped suddenly. Should I also mention those rough turns they have done too while driving?

Time to forget about those guys for a moment though. At this point, my face is in pain from that harsh impact with the floor. Rolling over, I start to rub it with my hands hoping to ease the pain and make it go away, as best I can.

Then the light comes out of nowhere and starts blinding my eyesight. Oh, that’s fricking fantastic.

After wincing a bit, I open my eyes and stare towards the direction at where the light came from. A window on the wall of the truck that has been covered has been released of it’s tight coverage. It had loosen at some point, releasing a bit of sunlight. Slowly, curiosity comes to me. Indeed, I have been inside this truck for quite a while now. I might as well take a peek of the outside world. Until today, I had never left my house. Of course, I really didn't have a choice on whether I wanted to leave or not. Standing and balancing myself, I took a few steps towards the window. Reaching it, I push the cover with my arm and poked my head through the squared hole. One look at the outside world, and I was already in awe at the sight.

A beautiful body of liquid colored in green, grey, and blue, and the vast, blue sky dyed with the white puffs and the source of the light. Truly, it had been so long since I last took a step outside. Witnessing this wonderful sight, perhaps being put in this horrendous situation caused by my stupid brother wasn't so bad. Curious to where he and I were being taken to, I decided to turn my head to the right, the direction the truck was moving at, and see if anything was there. At first, the scene was still the sky, the ocean, the clouds, and the sun. Within a minute, a new scenery slowly came. Time goes on, and I am able to get a better look at what it was.

An island, covered in mountains of green and on top of it all, a statue… 

One look at the statue from the distance, the beauty of the scene is gone immediately.

"What the hell is that?" I whisper to myself. I don't even know how to describe the statue from the distance. It just looks so… weird. A huge head with a mouth covering 1/3 of it, and it's attached to a small body. From the way I see it, it's in a dancing position too. If I don't like how it looks from the distance, then I am afraid to get a close up view of it. Of course, eventually, I will get a close up of it, given the truck is driving closer to it. 

Surely I won't have to deal with the island, and perhaps this "Stargazers West University" place is just minutes away, past the island…

~~~

And so, I have been proven wrong. Destiny puts me in a cruel twist of fate.

When the truck drove passed the port that leads to that island with the weird monument, I had felt a moment of bliss. At the same time, my brother has finally gained conscious, but that's not important. Then the men just had to turn around, and halt right in front of the port. Once they park the truck, they quickly got off to open the door. Suddenly, I have been thrown off the truck, then my brother immediately afterwards, then his and my suitcases last.

"Congratulations on your admission! Enjoy your high school!" And with those departing words, they drive away. In response, my brother stands up and shouts back at them.

"Stop messing with me!" 

As they drive away, an envelope flows from it, and then with help from the wind the truck creates, it lands in front of my brother. He picks up the letter and reads the words printed on it.

"Stargazers West University in Promised Island," he whispers to himself, forgetting (or perhaps never realizing) that I am right next to him. Speechless, he turns to the island, and I mimic his action. Immediately, I regret doing so, because I receive a beautiful view of that statue of whatever-the-hell-it-is and it's creeping me out. With a sigh, my brother turns.

"I'm leaving," he mutters to himself. As he is about to take a step, an old man appears out of nowhere, right in front of my brother.

"So you were admitted to Stargazers West University?" He questions my brother. I swear, this old man, right in front of my brother and I… he looks just like-

"Jiiya! It's you!" my brother screams at him. Okay… I was thinking the man resembled the butler, but to say it is him…

"If you're going to the school, you better get on the boat"

"You mean… you're not my butler?"

Wataru… there is no way that old man smoking a cigarette acting all cool and hipster would be our polite, respectful butler. Just to let you know…

"Of course not, I'm just an old fisherman as you can clearly see," the man responded… on second thought, he does kind of sounds like Jiiya. Eh… I still doubt it's really him.

The old man repeats himself to my brother and me that we should aboard the boat to travel to the island, where our new school is at. Before I can even grab my suitcase and move to the boat, my brother drags his and walks away.

"See you, grandpa," he mutters while walking away. I swear, I don't even know who this boy is. He is clearly not the sweet brother I knew and played with in the past.

"You're going back home?" The old man asked.

"Yeah," my brother replies. He continues to walk away with his luggage behind him

"Well," the old man starts. "If you have another high school lined up for you, then I'm happy for you." Those words stop my brother. Of course, he made a dumb move in applying to only one high school, never even stopping to think what would happen if he failed the exam. Sighing in defeat, my brother turns and trudges back and boards to the boat. I follow him and sat far from him.

Appearing out of nowhere, a brown-haired boy, dressed in a red jacket and grey pants arrives and sits in the seat in the back of the boat, holding the same envelope my brother has. The boy grins, staring at the envelope. The way he stares at it gave me the feeling I should stay away from him. Naturally, I slid to my left, moving farther away from him. As I move, a girl appears and sits at where I was once sitting at. This girl wore a mouse hat that covered her pink hair and glasses that was worn on her face. She was dressed in a green shirt with white puffs and bells decorated on it and plain white pants.  
This girl appeared to be as gloomy as my brother. Much like my brother and the strange boy, something was held in her hands, but it was not an envelope. Rather, it was a picture. I feel temptation to slide a bit closer and see what picture she was holding, but I know it’s best not to be nosy.

After staring at the picture, she goes to stare at my brother for a moment, then she lets out a heavy sigh the exact same time he does. Around the same time, the boat starts to move away from the dock.

"This boat is now heading to Promise Island. Please remain seated at all time as the boat is in motion."

~~~

The boat ride to Promise Island? Boring as hell. It’s been a good five minutes and we aren’t there now...

And that boy - I now know his name is Yamada- wouldn't shut up. He went and sat next to my brother and started telling him stories of his life in junior high school. After he was done blabbing on and on about that, he goes on to mention his reasons for coming to Promised Island. I didn't even bother paying attention to him. Simply put, I ignored him and just stared at the seagulls flying up above us in the sky.

When I look at the sky covered with clouds and flying seagulls, I couldn't help but felt I have seen the same scenery before in my childhood. Yet, I have absolutely no memory of being outside of Tokyo. All my life, it was just my brother, our parents, the butler, and I, all living in a nice house in Tokyo.

Throughout the ride, I have pondered.

Deep down, I had always wanted to leave and see what was there outside of Tokyo. Perhaps, going to Stargazers West University in this strange island called Promised Island wasn't such a bad idea…

But why did I have to go with him?

Oh, the weirdo is now bugging the girl and my brother to introduce themselves and cheers they will all have a great time together. Fantastic. Thankfully, the guy hasn't bothered to talk to me… 

… Now that I think about it…

Has he even noticed me to begin with? Seriously, throughout the ride, he continues to bug my brother and the girl next to me, yet not once has he say a single word to me. Maybe he has noticed me, but didn't like that I'm still dressed in my nightgown and shoeless with messy, dark brown hair. If that's the case, then I'm glad I look unkempt then.

"Attention! We are now reaching Promised Island!"

~~~

Once the boat reaches and stops at the port, Yamada, the weirdo, and Mami, the bespectacled girl, boards off. Right after they walk away with Yamada annoying Mami with unwanted questions, I hop off with my luggage and stood at the dock, staring at the scenery ahead. Of course, the only thing that was eye-appealing was the "Welcome to Promised Island!" sign tied up on the white wall standing in front of me. 

"Help me!"

Hearing the cry of my brother desperately calling for help, my time of learning my surroundings is cut short, and I turn at a quick paced. There, flapping his arms with all his strength (if he even had any) is my fraternal twin brother. This is the first time I had ever heard my brother cried for help, and honestly, I can see why he needs it now.

My brother does not know how to swim. Neither does Yamada, since he flat out just said he doesn't know either, so he can't help him. Thanks Yamada. Mami tries to help. She quickly grabs a life tube and throws it directly at my brother. 

Well...

Rather than the life tube landing near him or even aiming at him so he can grab onto it, it hits my brother right in the face, knocking his glasses off in the process.  
Well that is the end of my brother…  
…  
…  
As much as I hate him, the thought of losing my brother by drowning is not a feeling I wish to have. Even though he never talks to me or even acknowledges me anymore, he is still my brother…

And I still crave for his love and attention…

Not wanting to lose my brother, I start to run towards the ocean. I intend to simply jump in and save him, even if I didn't even know how to swim either. Despite that, if he and I drowned, it will be okay. That way, he and I can drown together like total fools.

Once I reach the edge of the dock, ready to dive in, a shadow suddenly blocks all the light that has been shining on me. Looking up at the source, a boat is being carried and heads to the ocean. In the boat, I saw a girl with her arm out, reaching for my brother. Once the boat is lowered enough, the girl grabs my brother by his wrist, saving him from his death.

Throughout the event, I could have sworn I heard a voice from the girl.

"Big Brother!"


	2. Wandering Around to Sweet Encounters

Standing there on the wooden dock, I find myself watching my brother with that girl. I find it hard to believe that despite meeting her for the first time, he is having a fine time talking to her. I assume this is the first time he has ever talked to a girl in years; a shade of red adorns his cheeks as the girl dries his face off with her handkerchief.  
Honestly, I don't even want to see them anymore. I can’t help but feel a wave of envy just by looking at this scene. How long ago had my brother last casually speak to me?

Sighing in defeat, I turn and start to walk away, my luggage in my hand. It’s time to explore this island, Promise Island… my new home.

~~~

Despite the island's monument being some weird thing that I can't even tell what it is, the island itself is actually quite beautiful. The trees standd, showing off their strong bark and branches and their green leaves glowing from the rays of the sun. The houses and shops are well built. The people in the island are quite lively. Clerks and store owners happily greeting customers, people chatting amongst each other, children playing around with glee, happiness filled the island.

Perhaps coming to island was not a bad idea after all.

So far, I had visited a few stores. I have taken a glance at the toy store, I bought lunch at a nice café (and strangely, it was on the house, the clerk said to me), and now, I find myself inside a clothes store. All articles of clothing here are fabulous. Usually, I am not interested in fashion or clothing, largely due to me being a shut in up til now, but seeing these clothes makes me want to try all of them.

"Excuse me"

Surprised by the sudden female voice behind me, I turned around. My sight was met with a hand coming out of a curtain in the changing room.

"Can you zip this up for me please?"

"Me?" I asked, pointing to myself.

"Of course, you are right there, you can help me."

I walk forward and lightly push the curtain so I can see where I need to zip. The girl's back is turned to me. Her back is slightly exposed, due to her shirt being unzipped from the back. I grab the zipper and zip it up, her skin no longer showing. I step back, the curtain falling back and covering the girl again. In a few seconds, she steps out, her face towards mine.

The girl in front of me was dressed in a simple, violet minidress that just goes down to her upper thighs. The sleeves were long and a darker shade of purple than the rest of the dress. 

Needless to say, she looks rather cute and gorgeous, much like a model.

"Does it suit me?" The girl questions me. Seconds go by, and I am still at a loss of words. Did I already say this girl is cute?

"Yeah…" I slowly stuttered, unsure of what else to say.

"Oh? Are you wearing your nightgown?"

"Eh…" I look down, examining my clothes and full realization hitting that I had left my home in Tokyo in my favorite pajamas, and even through the entire day, I had been wearing my favorite nightgown, a simple, white, long sleeved dress laced with light blue ribbons. In addition, my dark hair (even darker than my own brother’s) hasn’t been brushed, looking rather unkempt the entire day.

I know I said I love this dress… but now I’m embarrassed… and certainly not helped that I’ve been barefoot the entire day!

"I'll get clothes for you." The girl's cheerful words brings me back to reality. I simply stare at her in awe. The girl suddenly leaves her spot before I could utter a word and goes searching for clothes for me to wear. In several minutes, she comes back to me with fabric in her arms.

"Try this one," she commands to me, pushing me to the dressing room and handing me the clothes she held. Once I sense that she has left, I strip myself of my comfortable pajamas, and without seeing what she has gotten me, I try on the clothes the girl has given me. After I dress myself, I stand in front of the mirror and got a better look of myself.

For a start, my hair is still slightly messy and unkempt. Now that I got that in mind, I took a descriptive glance at the clothes accompanying my body. Clinging to my upper body was a pure white shirt with short, slightly ruffled sleeves and thin, light blue lace and ribbons accompanying the shirt, worn on the end of the sleeves and the top and bottom portion of my shirt. It’s easy to notice the resemblance between this shirt and my nightie. Perhaps the girl picked out this shirt for that very reason. In addition, she had given me a matching skirt that I am currently wearing. The skirt was thigh high, plain, and entirely the same shade of blue as the ribbons.

"Hey! I noticed you are not wearing shoes, so try these on!"

Jumping slightly, not expecting her to call for me or even notice my lack of footwear, I turn abruptly. Lying right below the curtain were a pair of long, plain white socks and simple, blue flats. First grabbing the socks, I dress my bare feet with them until it reaches my thighs. After that, I put on the shoes on my now covered feet.

"Let me see!" I hear her shout to me. Since there is nothing else I can do, I simply pull the curtains just so she can have a look. Once she comes to sight, I notice she no longer wears the dress she was trying on earlier, but instead, she wears a long sleeve, light purple top with a dark brown spaghetti strap shirt over it and a lighter brown mini skirt. In one hand, she holds a brush and in the other, ribbons.

"That outfit looks so nice on you," she compliments me. "Now it's time to fix your hair." Entering the dressing room, she stands behind me, placing the ribbons down somewhere, and grabs my hair. "Stay still," she commands, and she began to brush my knotty dark hair. As soon as my hair smooths out, free of tangles, the girl ties my wavy hair up into twintails with the ribbons. After finishing my hair, she turns me around and steps back, having a nice view on me.

"Now you look perfect," she compliments.

"I do?" I question. Usually, I don't ever care for my looks, but hearing those words from someone for the very first time, I couldn't help but feel some joy. The girl nods with a smile on her face.

"Then…" she starts, looking at me. "Shall we take a picture of us together?" She asks politely.

~~~

"This is me?" Staring at the photo taken in her camera, I was still shocked that the brunette (closely resembling raven hair) with a small smile on her face was really me. Of course, the girl next to me in the photo and standing right beside me was prettier than me.

"Yep. It's a good picture." And with those words, the girl suddenly clings onto my arm while keeping a smile on her face. Once we make eye contact, she subtly winks at me. As this is the first time in so long since someone cling onto me, let alone the first time someone ever winked at me, all I could do is just smile, although very awkwardly.

Then the moment ends, and the girl lets go of me, starting to run off.

"My name is Sakuya." She introduces herself while skipping away. "Let's hang out again next time! You're cute~"

I watch her as she leaves me be.

When exactly is next time though? I couldn’t help but ponder about that. Then it clicks in my mind that, seeing how small this island is, there is most likely only one school here, and Sakuya did appear to be my age. Perhaps she and I will be in the same class.

Coming to a conclusion with my thoughts, I start to walk off, exploring more of the town.

~~~

After an hour or so wandering around, I choose to ride on the cute little train so I can explore more without moving my legs so much. Having done so much walking, it’s best to rest a little, right? While I sat on the seat, I turn to the window, memorizing the buildings and nature of the island. In comparison to the plain streets of Tokyo where people rush to their destination and barely any trees or other beauty of nature around, Promised Island is filled with a welcoming, lively aroma where everyone in town treats all with politeness.

It comes to me that Promised Island might actually be the home I desire, a place where new, exciting events can happen in my life. I won't have to live inside my room for endless months (actually, I was never obligated to, but no one really had given me any sort of attention, except Jiiya…). Now, I can live here in peace… with my no good brother.

Speaking of my brother, where is he? After ditching him at the port, I haven't seen him since. Oh well. Surely, he is doing himself and his dear "nonexistent" sister a favor and going to the school before 15:00 so he can get us a home to stay in.

"Next stop is West Second Block. Anyone who wants to get off, please raise your hand so I can know."

Turning towards the source of the announcement, my eyes capture the only other passenger on the train, a young female child, I believe around 8 or 9 years of age, with short brown hair in a hime cut and a headband worn on her head. Dressed in a green sweatshirt, a blue skirt, blue sneakers, and white leg warmers, the girl holds her hands together and appeared to be fidgeting. Watching her nervously turning her head from her hands to the front of the train then back to her hands, I realize the child was most likely to nervous to raise her hand.

"Are you getting off?" Calmly, I spoke to the girl. 

Without turning her head to me, she responded, "Yes." At that moment, I decide to do the girl a favor for her. Raising my hand up high, I shout to the driver.

"We're getting off!" The girl looks at me, her eyes wide open and her mouth slightly forming an O.

"Alright!" The driver yells back.

In seconds, the look of shock leaves the girl's face, replaced with a smile of gratitude.

"You're a really nice person," she tells me in a sweet, childlike voice. Then, slowly tilting her head down, she continues to speak. "You're a cool person."

"Eh…" I honestly have no idea what leads her to think I am. "I'm not cool."

"Eh?"

"I honestly don't think someone like me would be "cool." I've locked myself in my room for years, I have no friends because of my dumb decision, and I had walked out in public wearing my pajamas."

Once I realize I went off talking, I stop myself and turn to look at the girl, wondering what her expression is to my ranting. Sitting there, she keeps a calm face the whole time and appears to have listened to everything I said.

"I'm always a klutz," she starts telling me. "I fall often, and I get lost easily." Then after a second or two of silence, her head perked up and she looked directly towards me. Her arms had also pumped up. "At times like that, I tell myself to hang in there. Then I get lots of energy, and I cheer for myself."

I couldn't stop myself from smiling at the girl. She is so cheerful and finds ways to keep herself happy. I found myself admiring the child for having such a nice personality trait.  
In the next second, the train stops.

"We have now reached West Second Block. Please get off safely and thank you for riding with us." The girl and I depart from the bus, and once we step off, it drives away.

"Where are you going?" Without realizing it, I ask her with curiosity in my voice.

"I'm going to the flower shop," she responds so cheerfully. "I am going to buy a flower for my brother!"

"That's nice," I tell her. My mind suddenly clouds with thoughts of whether Wataru would like a flower for a gift, but immediately, I kick all thoughts relating to him out of my mind. "My name is Yomi," I introduce myself to her.

"I'm Kaho! Thank you very much for talking to me in the train ride!" She cheers to me with happiness.

"Why thank me?" I ask her. I honestly don't know why she would thank me when I feet she had helped me rather than I helped her. "I should be thanking you. Talking to you had really made me happy." Kaho smiles at me, then brings her fists up to her face. 

"Fight!" She cheers on, then turns and runs off. As she jogs away, I grab my camera out so I can take a picture of her. As I take out the camera used to take a picture of Sakuya and me earlier, Kaho turns her upper body so she can wave to me while running. The moment I press the button to take the picture, however, Kaho loses her footing and starts to collapse.

After capturing a photo of her tripping over, I bring my camera down and catch the sight of Kaho lying on the ground. In embarrassment, she clumsily pats her head and meekly smiles at me. Then quickly, she brings her fists up, reminding her and me to stay strong and keep on going.

~~~

Even after hours and minutes pass by, I have yet to grow tire of walking around, even when carrying a suitcase holding all my belongings. In addition, I have been in a happy mood myself, much happier then I have ever been in the past five and a half years. I never would have imagine myself in such a giddy mood. I can easily imagine myself, going back to when I was ten years old, and telling her, “Don’t worry about your brother, because one day, you are going to live in paradise!”

Or maybe I’m just too happy, but oh well. In my excitement, I skip around in bliss, and briefly I twirled around…

And I felt my suitcase collide with someone.

Realizing this immediately, I open my eyes and went to go apologize for my reckless behavior…

Only to realize I hit a child, and a cute, little girl, specifically…

Good job, Yomi. When you’re happy, you go and hit a little girl.

I could tell immediately that if I don't act quickly, a scene would break out. The child, holding her forehead, is nearly ready to release her cries, although she is trying her best not to. Feeling guilty for hurting her, I quickly pull her and run towards a cake shop I remember being nearby, not bothering to see her reaction.

Once she and I reach the front of the store, I stop and turn to the child. This girl is really cute, wearing a yellow dress with long sleeves and puffs on the shoulder area and a blue ribbon worn on her collar. Her short blond hair is tied up in pigtails by her rather large, red ribbons. Her forehead is still slightly red from my luggage making contact with it. Thankfully, I did not hit her hard enough to make a bruise.

"I'm sorry," I start telling the child. "I didn't mean to hit you. I was being stupid and chose to not be careful while in a happy mood."

"It's okay!" The child quickly beams at me with a smile on her face.

"Do you want cake?" I ask her, wanting to make up for my stupidity by buying a treat for her. The face she makes when I ask is quite adorable. Her eyes glow with happiness and her smile grows bigger.

"Yes! Hina wants cake please!"

~~~

"Hinako, are you alright walking out on your own?" 

After eating the sweets I had bought for her, Hinako and I left the store, and we spent the past few minutes walking together, her hand holding mine. At the moment, as the sun was nearly ready to set, I start wondering if it is perhaps time for Hinako to head home.

"Hina is fine!" the girl beams at me, smiling. "Because Hina is happy with sis here, so sis doesn't have to worry." How did she figure out that I was slightly worried about her? Also, I feel that no matter what, she should head home to where her family is at.

"Hina, don't you want to go see your daddy and mommy?" Hina turned her head towards me.

"Papa and Mama are working overseas for a year, so Hina is staying with her big sisters until they return." She informs me while still speaking in the third person.

In the time I have gotten to known Hinako, she is a cheerful girl who adores fairy tales and sweets. I have noticed she is also quite adventurous and had a huge imagination. Even while her parents are working abroad, Hina is still energetic.

Before I could continue speaking to her, asking where she lives so I can take her home, Hinako suddenly releases her grip on my hand and started running forward. 

“Hina?” I call out, and I am met with no response from the child. In seconds, she stops her pace right in front of a store that sold watches and other wrists accessories and peaked through the entrance. “Hina?” I call her name again, and she ignores me or doesn’t hear me. I’m not sure which one, because Hina isn’t far from me. Maybe something caught her attention? As I grow curious, I slowly walked towards her. As I get closer, I hear a voice in the store talking to Hinako.

"What's wrong?" The voice is barely audible, but I can tell it belongs to a male. "Where's your father?" It is slightly louder as I get closer. Instead of responding to the question, Hinako shakes her head. "Then, how about your mother?" The voice is more clear as I continue walking towards the source. While it feels familiar to my ears, I couldn't figure out who is talking to Hinako, but I can tell that he has never met Hinako before. She continues to shake her head in response.

Then there is silence for a moment, and finally, I stand right behind Hinako. Before I could even poke my head in, the stranger asks another question.

"Did you get lost?" 

Oh… I know that voice.

"Hina's not lost!" The young girl finally answers him, that poor troubled soul.

"Oh, Hinako!" A different voice rings out, and that voice is very familiar too… 

Oh? It's her.

When I finally realize it, those bitter feelings begin to erupt in my stomach. Then, it vanishes as I see her standing by Hinako, holding the younger girl's hand while looking towards him who is still in the store.

"I'll take her home since I know her." She says with concern with her voice. I now know I am not the only one who is concerned with Hinako wandering off in town with no adult supervision. I wonder why her sisters are okay with Hina on her own.

"See you later, mister!" Hinako cheers to him as the girl pulls her away. The two girls keep on walking, not bothering to even notice my presence. Not wanting to let that sink in my mind that I was blatantly ignored throughout the entire scene, I decide to simply follow him, hoping he actually went and got a place for us to stay at.

~~~

Unbelievable….

Just flat out unbelievable….

My brother did get a place for us (or himself, if he forgot about me, but fine by me) to stay at. The result? The man who he signed the contract to didn't realize he already gave the apartment to that Yamada guy.

Thankfully, instead of having us share a flat together – and the idea of even sharing a place with Yamada is rather disturbing to even think about – or just booting out one of us, the man gave Wataru a different place for him and I to stay at. Right now, Wataru and I are heading to our new home.

As I ride on the down escalator, I keep looking around at my surroundings, hoping to find some interesting sights. After seeing just the orange tinted sky, birds flying, and the leaves and branches of the trees dancing slightly with the nearly nonexistent breeze, my eyes catch sight of two familiar figures walking together. Finding myself interested in the sight my eyes found, I take out my camera from my pocket. Holding it up so I can get a better view through my camera, I simply take a picture of Hinako and the brunette besides her.

It might be weird, me taking pictures of people when they don't know, but I want to capture another memory of today. I feel that taking a picture is the best way to do so. I want to remember that the brunette saved my brother when he fell in the ocean, and I want to remember that I spent some time with Hinako. With the camera still in my hand, I look back at the previous two pictures taken in my hand. A picture of Kaho falling and a picture of Sakuya and me together remain in my camera along with my newest photo saved in there. Feeling satisfied that I have reminders for today, I place my camera away in my pocket.

Eventually, I reach the end of the escalator. After I hop off, suitcase still in hand, I continued to follow my brother. The walk to our new home is a long one, as well as a silent one. Not once did he say anything to me, nor did he ever realize I was there. If he is aware that I was behind him, he is probably too busy moping around to even care. By now, I am used to it, but I still feel conflicted over this situation. As I had been used to this sort of treatment my brother gave me for five and a half years, half of me feel there was no need to bother caring much for him. What was the point in caring for someone who won't even pay attention to you?

At the same time, however, I feel I want my brother to just talk to me again. I want my relationship to revive, to go back to the way it was when we were children.

"It's impossible."

I stop my feet and pause there, wondering where the voice came from, or if I have just imagined it. Suddenly, I feel the wind pick up and it blew, hitting directly to my face. Realizing that there is something behind me, I turn to witness it. My eyes fall on the figure behind me.

A small girl, dressed all in yellow, stands on the path, her huge yellow hat blocking her upper face. Only her smile can be seen from her head. Her smile is small, but it gives off an eerie feeling, giving me the impression that she knows something that I don't know.

As quickly as I saw her there, the wind blows very harshly, forcing me to close my eyes once it made contact with it. The moment I open them…

She is no longer there.

Suddenly, I find myself growing tired, and when I look at the sky, I realized that the sun is almost set and the light from it is dwindling. Turning back, I continue to head to my new home, well aware that my brother is far ahead of me now and has no idea that his sister is no longer right behind him.


	3. Those Girls I Met Earlier

Once I reach my new home, all I could do is stare at the sight. Simply put, my expectations of it being a flat or simple apartment went down the drain instantly. The place I am staring at is a mansion and huge one as well. I can tell it can fit so many people in it as it clearly has a lot of rooms.

Speaking of rooms, one of them clearly has someone in there as the light is on. Assuming it is just my brother wandering around, I shrug it off and enter my new home. Once I enter the building, I find myself staring at the inside in awe just like I have done earlier. This building is so clean and neatly organized, as well as it is huge. Furniture arranged nicely, not a speck of dirt on the ground, and so much space to wander around. I feel I am going to like this place instantly.

Wanting to see more of the building, I quickly wonder off, abandoning the suitcase I’ve held. I turn on the lights to each room I peak in. The kitchen can hold so much food, the dining room has a large table for at least 20 people to eat at, and the hallways are decorated with paintings and designs. Continuing to walk around, admiring the building, light starts to appear in my view through the darkness. Clicking in my head that my brother is probably in that room, I turn around to walk away, wanting to get far from him just for a moment.

Soon, the sound of familiar laughter echoes to my ears. With the sense of déjà vu hitting my conscious, I turn back. Then, more sounds arrive from the same room, and I realize my brother is not the only person in that room. Slowly, I move my feet forward, walking towards the light at a rather slow pace. Getting closer to the room, the sound of voices had become more audible, and before I even reached the room, I immediately recognize the voices.

The girls I had met today are in that room with my brother.

Standing right in front of the entrance to the room, I meet the sight of my brother's back facing me and the four cute girls I encountered today facing him. They are all talking to him, telling him many things. I have intended to wave or say something, letting them know I am here, but now that I am at a perfect spot to hear clearly, the words from their mouths waste no time to enter my ears.

"Onii-chan, aren't you tired yet?"

Onii-chan… wait, what? The girl who saved my brother earlier, and I still don't know her name, did she just called my brother-  
"Onii-sama, I still want to talk more," cried Sakuya.

"Hehe… we can still talk…" my brother had shyly told her.

Wait, Onii-sama!?

"Hina wants to play with Onii-tama more!"

Hinako is still as adorable as she is earlier… she also just cal-

"I want to do a cheer for Onii-chama!"

…  
…  
… let me get this straight…

The girl who saved my brother, Sakuya, Hinako, and Kaho… they all just called Wataru "big brother" in their own says… since I am Wataru's sister…

Oh god, they are my younger… I don't even know how they are related to me, and I is never told once in my life that I even had other siblings besides Wataru, but the very fact that they are even my little sisters…

I can't help but feel such extreme joy…

But why are they paying attention to him?

Well, I understand the girl who called him Onii-chan and saved him paying attention to him. I never got to actually talk to her, let alone even know her name. Maybe, I understand Hinako wanting to be close to Wataru. Earlier, she did tell him she will see him later. Why Sakuya though? Why Kaho? Did they meet up with him at some point today when I isn't there?

"It is fun picking out clothes for Onii-sama to wear."

Now I know Sakuya did meet up with him, and turns out he went through the same event I went through with Sakuya. No wonder Wataru is wearing different clothing and not the dull uniform he wore when he fell into the ocean.

"I had fun talking to Onii-chama when we rode the train together."

Another question answered thanks to Kaho. Even she met up with Wataru earlier… and it's the same exact thing that happened when Kaho and I met earlier today.

The four girls continued talking to Wataru, wanting to get to know him more. Here I am, standing right at the doorway, watching them…

None of them are paying any attention to me…

"Hello…" I had shyly called out, hoping they would turn and notice me.  
…  
…  
…  
They never looked at me. They didn't see me standing there at all.

"Sakuya?"

No response from the cute fashionista…

"Kaho?"

No response from the young, clumsy girl…

"Hinako?"

No response from the cheerful little girl…

"Nii-chan…"

And as always, just like the past five and a half years…

No response from my brother.

The pain that is starting to grow in my chest is nearly ready to blossom. How come I am not here to them? How come they are giving all of their attention to him?

How come he is spending time with them when he wouldn't even pay attention to me!? Growing more frustrated and not wanting to see anymore of what is in front of me, I waste no time running away from it. My legs carry me off. I don’t know where I am going, but I want to go far away. I wanted to disappear.\

Why am I feeling so torn apart over it!?

_"Maybe you are jealous." ___

__That voice… I heard that voice earlier…_ _

__The same voice from when I was walking to this place. Why would I be jealous though?_ _

__I'm not jealous… am I?_ _

___"Don't you want the attention those girls are getting?" ____ _

____Maybe… maybe not…. I want their attention too…_ _ _ _

_____"But they don't want you though. They want him." ____ _ _ _

______Everything is becoming dizzy. My footing has grown clumsier._ _ _ _ _ _

______No way! There is no way they want to spend time with someone like him!_ _ _ _ _ _

_______"Are you saying that because you want him to notice you?" ____ _ _ _ _ _

________Shut up! Go away!_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________My sight is getting worse. My face is starting to burn. My body is feeling cold._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________I want that voice gone._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Without realizing it, the darkness slowly engulfs me, and my body collapses as I succumb to the dark._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________~~~_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________Standing in front of a door, I, a young girl at ten years of age, waited for him, my older fraternal twin brother, to come out of his room. Ever since the first days of September, without any warning, he had created a distance between him and me. He stopped talking to me, he stopped visiting me, and he even stopped caring for me._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________I no longer existed in his eyes._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________All of that didn't stop me from wanting him to play with me though. It was the first snowfall of winter. As Winter Break has started, I had wanted to spend my time with my brother. Dressed in casual warm clothes – long sleeve blue shirt, matching sweatpants, and white socks with yellow slippers worn over them- so I won't freeze in the cold temperature of December, I knocked on his door, something I have done every day._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________"Nii-chan!" I cried. "Let's go outside and play today!" I cheered, placing my hand on the necklace I have worn. A silver, heart shaped necklace with wings attached to them, a gift my brother gave me on our birthday. I have treasured it as well as I have worn it everyday._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________The boy never answered my call. I knocked again._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________"Nii-chan! Do you want to build a snowman?" I asked, believing he might finally respond._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________No response._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________"Do you want to go sledding?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________No response._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________"How about a snowball fight?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________No response._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________Maybe he didn't want to go outside…_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________"Nii-chan!" I was not going to give up._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________"How about a game of Life? Toys? Charades?" I had continued to list many games my brother and I could do._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________No response to anything I had asked._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________I didn't want to admit that it is all in vain._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________"Miss Yomi."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________Surprised, then disappointed that the words did not belong to my brother, I turned my head towards Jiiya._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________"Master Wataru is busy today," he informed me, although there is a hint of hesitation in his voice. Accepting those words to my head, I looked down for a moment, then back up to stare at my butler, making eye contact._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________"Why is he so busy now?" I began to ask my butler. "He and I are always playing together. Why would he suddenly lock himself in his room and stop talking to his own sister anymore!?" I can't stand it. One day, he and I are perfectly fine, talking together and playing as always, and then suddenly, the next day, he is busy with whatever he is focused on._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________Giving me a face full of sympathy, my butler started to walk to me, then petted my head._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________"Miss Yomi," he began to respond. "For now, I can not answer your question to why he isn't communicating with you anymore." So, there is actually reason to why my brother is doing all of this. "Actually, it is not in my place to tell you at all why it is happening."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________Shocked, I looked up at Jiiya._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________"Why?" I began. "How come you can't tell me? Who will tell me then when Nii-chan won't even talk to me?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________Silence then filled the atmosphere. Jiiya is standing there, thinking of how to answer my question. We knew Wataru can't tell me why he is ignoring me and shunning me. My parents are also out of the question. They both have been so busy working, it's possible that even they don't know what is happening between their two children.  
Soon, the silence is broken by Jiiya._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________"Perhaps, one day, when both you and Wataru are older, the answer will come to you." I stared at him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________"What do you mean?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________Then Jiiya started chuckling. "I believe that is enough for today, Yomi. How about we go outside and play?" Once the words "outside" and "play" are heard to my ears, I beamed and cheered with joy._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________"Yes! Let's play together Jiiya!" I cheered, already walking and holding Jiiya's palm with mine. Jiiya had always been there for me. He had raised my brother and me when our parents couldn't. He cooked, he cleaned, he looked after us, and he made sure everything is fine._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________While I had not understood Jiiya's words that time, I feel he is right when he said the answer is going to come to me._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________But when will that happen?_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________I wonder… ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________~~~_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Oh, Onee-tama is waking up now!"  
"Sakuya, Onee-chama is starting to wake!"  
"Don't yell. You two will disturb her."  
"Onee-chan still has a fever, stay quiet."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Light is starting to blur my eyes as I slowly open them. My face feels so warm, so the feeling of something soft, cool, and wet lying on my forehead feels incredibly nice. The blankets covering my body made me feel super comfortable._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Once my eyesight finally became clear, a familiar face of a child is looking down on me._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"You're awake now, Onee-tama," Hinako tells me in a happy tone. All I could do is look at her, confused. Where am I…_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Jolting my body up forward, the rag that is lying on my forehead fell to my lap. Staring right at it, I realized it has been keeping my head cool from the unwelcomed warm temperature._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Onee-chama," Kaho's voice grabbed my attention. "You still have a fever," she tells me, concerned laced in her voice. All I could do is look at her and Hinako. They are talking to me now…_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Is last night's event just a dream then?_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Onee-sama," Sakuya called to me by the doorway. "Karen went to fill up the pan with cold water. She'll be back."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________So that's what her name is! Karen… why did it suddenly felt like I have met her before? Well, besides the events of yesterday, of course, but it felt like I have known Karen from a long time ago…_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________My thoughts are quickly interrupted by the palms of Hinako and Kaho pushing me back down in my bed. Kaho grabs the rag and placed it on the table. Then, she brought the blankets up to my neck while Hinako ruffled my pillow. The sound of footsteps then ringed in my ears, and I heard a sound of a heavy object filled with liquid being placed somewhere nearby. Turning my head, there is the same girl who saved my brother, Karen. Grabbing the rag right next to it, she dunks it in the water, then brought it out, wringing it. After doing so, she went and bends forward towards me, placing the wet cloth on my forehead._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Onee-chan, you should be fine by tomorrow if you stay in bed the entire day today," she tells me with a smile._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"We will take care of you, Onee-sama," Sakuya called out as she walked towards me. She appeared to be pleased to having to take care of me._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Feel better soon, Onee-tama!" Hinako cheered._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Don't worry about us, feel better Onee-chama!" Kaho joined in on Hinako's cheering.  
Looking at them all, astonished that they are willing to take care of me and wishing me to recover, all I could do is smile warmly._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Thank you" is all I could mutter out of my mouth._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"No problem, Onee-chan. Now we must leave so you can rest peacefully again," Karen announced. In the past minute, the four girls had walked out of my room, one by one waving goodbye to me. Karen is the last one to leave. Waving goodbye and wishing me well, she closed the door._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Lying in bed all alone in my room, I stared at the ceiling, recalling the events of last night and what had happened the past few minutes. Confusion had entered my mind. Last night, they didn't even acknowledge my existence, yet now, they are taking care of me…_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________I am unable to think so much as my eyes are starting to close themselves. Before I allowed myself to fall into a nice slumber, one simple thing comes to mind that I know is true about last night._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Those girls, Karen, Sakuya, Kaho, and Hinako, are my little sisters who I never met before until yesterday. Once again, maybe coming to Promised Island is not a bad idea after all._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


	4. As My Day Goes On

Upon taking a step outside my current home, I feel the fresh breeze hitting my face. Taking a step outside of the mansion, I run off. At this moment, I have no interest in lingering around in the dining room any longer. Abruptly leaving is the only solution. After all, because his presence was there, they kept their entire focus on him, never realizing that I was there too.

It is now just my third day on the island, and I have made a quick recovery from my fever. Throughout the entire previous day while I was bedridden, my newfound sisters often came to visit me. Feeling loved by all the attention they had given me, I had believed that the event of the previous night had never happened.

Then this morning had arrived. My illness passed, and I was healthy again. Dressing myself in a plain, sleeveless beige dress with a white sweater over it, I departed from my room to the dining room. When I arrived and cheerfully yelled "Good morning," I had expected my sisters to greet me in the same cheerful manner I had greeted them as well as converse with me.

Instead, they were talking to our brother, never realizing that I was even there. It was that night all over again. I didn't even stay in the room for ten minutes as they were trying to feed him breakfast that he clearly disliked. Knowing they wouldn't pay attention to me, I fled.

Now, having run off, I am no longer nearby the mansion. Despite being very well aware of that, I continue to run. After several minutes of running, I had decided to finally look back and see how far I was fromt the house.

Bad idea... Not watching where I was going, I immediately feel another body colliding with me. Most likely, they had no idea I was even coming, and that is my fault. Following the collision, we fall to the ground. Going through a hard, unexpected bump to each other, we lie there, wincing in pain. After a minute or so, the other person recovers and comes to my side.

"Are you okay?" A boyish voice rings in my ears. Finally opening my eyes, I turn to stare at the person I bumped into. A girl with a boyish appearance – very short hair covered by a hat and dressed in gym wear – stands there, holding her hand out to me. I accept it and stand up with her help, and while I help myself with her aid, I noticed the skates she is wearing on her feet, leaving me to realize the girl has been skating around when we collided.

"I'm okay," I reply to the girl with a slight smile. The girl then smiles back with a big grin.

"I'm Mamoru!" Cheerfully introducing herself, she shakes my hand. "What is your name?"

"I'm Yomi," I answer in a somewhat quiet voice.  
"Haha, that's a cute name," she commented, and then she looked down. "Haha, it seems you don't like to wear shoes, do you?"

"Hm?" I look down and realize that once again, I have gone out in public with absolutely no footwear. Oh well. If I don’t even notice or even feel anything weird while I was walking, then I have absolutely no problem walking out in public barefoot.

"Haha, I sometimes don't," I answered back to her. Besides, I never wore shoes inside my former home in Tokyo, due to me being a hikkikomori. It must have been a habit I picked up on my way here. I looked down and eyed on her skates again. "You were skating when you and I bumped into each other," I start to tell her. "I never skated before."

"Oh, really?" She looked at me with a surprised look. "Skating is a lot of fun! One day, I will teach you to skate, okay?" I nodded in agreement to her. Mamoru smiled at me again, then gasped after just realizing something.

"Oh yeah, I have to go! I'll see you later, okay?" Right after saying those words, she quickly skates away, turning back just to wave at me. "See you soon, Yomi!" She screams at me before she continues to skate away.

I silently wave back, wondering when I would meet Mamoru again.

~~~

After spending the next hour wandering around, I allow my body to rest on the grass in a vacant park. Gazing at the bright blue sky above, I stare at the clouds and seagulls that fly by every few minutes. Where I am at right now, the breeze is softly hitting my body. The rays of the sun lightly warms up my bare skin. Eventually, I close my eyes and allow my mind to doze off.

I recall yesterday. The way those four girls spoke to me, how they encouraged me to fight against the fever that lingered in my body, the look of care and kindness they have given me, I truly loved all of it.

But do they truly care about me?

When Wataru was with them, he was the only one they were interested in. Why? Why Wataru? Why him of all people? That boy was so busy crying over his idiocy the first day we came here. In addition, he is incredibly awkward towards anyone who was not Akio, Minai, or Jiiya. Hell, I could tell by the look on his face back at the Welcome House earlier that he didn't even wanted to be bear those girls. Did they not notice? Why do they want him?

Why not pay attention to me!?

Woof!

My eyes immediately shot open by the sudden sound I never expect to hear. The vast blue sky is no longer in my view. In replacement is a face covered entirely in golden fur with two eyes, a nose, and a mouth with a tongue sticking out. The canine continues to stare down at me with a glint of excitement in its eyes. Unsure of what to do with the dog that was towering over me, I simply raise my arm up, allowing my hand to graze through its fur, petting it. The dog barks happily in response. It eventually backs up a bit, allowing me to sit up. After doing so, I turn around and found myself making eye contact with the golden canine in front of me. Once again, I went and pet the dog, and it seems to enjoy my touch as it barks happily again.

"Michael!"

A timid, feminine voice cries out. The dog perks up and runs off to the owner of the voice. My eyes follow the dog, assuming his name is Michael, and I continue to watch him run up to a girl with long hair tied in a braid and dressed in a green overall dress. The girl bends down to pet her dog happily, and then she turns her gaze up, eying me, who was still lying on the ground.  
Politely smiling towards the girl, I stand up and walk towards her.

"Your dog is really friendly!" I yell to her. She simply smiles at me. 

"Thank you," she politely responds. I reach to where she ss at and went to pet Michael again. Once again, he barks happily.

"My name is Yomi," I introduced myself to the bespectacled girl.

"I'm Marie," she responded to me. We continued to walk side by side with Michael in between us.

"I just moved here a few days ago," I informed the younger girl next to me. Then she and I continued on talking.

~~~

After a nice walk and conversation with Marie for minutes, I depart from her and Michael as they both have to go somewhere. Marie is a child of poor health, as she has informed me. Despite living in a clinic most of her life, Michael had always been by her side, so she is never alone.

I couldn't help but envy her for a tiny bit. I had been alone for a very long time, while Marie, who has been sick all her life, had at least something that kept her from ever feeling alone.

Continuing walking, I find myself slowly getting closer to the sight of metal. As I continue on, it becomes clear the metal ahead of me is in a giant robot form. A girl dressed in green and mechanical goggles worn on her head is working on it.

Reaching the robot, all I could do is look up and stare at the girl who is adding on to the robot. Is she working on that entirely on her own? She must have put a lot of work and effort into it… god damn.

Once the girl finally looks away from what she has been working on, she turns and sees me, standing there gawking at the robot.

"Have you been working on that robot?" I ask curiously.  
The girl grins at me. "Yeah, I have been working on Mecha Rinrin for several months," she beams. "She is almost completed."

All I could do is look at her invention in awe. 

"Did you work on that all by yourself?"

"Yep!"

"Amazing!" I cheer. She smile and goes down to the ground, standing in front of me.

"I'm Rinrin," she introduces herself, then turns her head to her creation. "And that is Mecha Rinrin."

"I'm Yomi. Nice to meet you," I respond back to her in a happy tone. "Is Mecha Rinrin finished?"

"She is almost done," Rinrin informs me kindly. "I just need to add several more parts to her. She should be complete in a few days."

I continue to admire the robot in front of me. The Mecha Rinrin is huge, much bigger than Rinrin and me. It slightly resembles its creator, having a similar hairstyle on its head as well as matching goggles on top.

"I'd like to see her when she is completed," I tell Rinrin.

"Great!" Rinrin cheers at me. "Now, time to resume my work on her."

After that has been said, I have departed from Rinrin, bidding farewell to her, and continue on.

~~~

I'm hungry…

I realize the appetite I desire as I continue walking. Right now, food would be great to have now. When I had gone and ran off this morning, I had also not eaten breakfast. Goes to show just how smart I am. Now, my stomach is growling for energy, and I am nowhere near the shopping district. Here I am, still around the park on the top of the island, with no food area around me.

"Ikatakimasu!"

A cute feminine voice catches me off guard. Someone is nearby, ready to eat her meal. Once again, I grow curious of where the voice had come from, and instantly, I begin to look around, searching for the source.

Turning around, my head faces towards a young girl with lavender hair whose ends curled at her shoulders, and decorated with a darker purple bow, dressed in a violet dress and an apron over it. She is seated happily on the grass, with a bento on her lap, and another right next to her. The one on her lap is opened, exposing delicious food to my sight, and the one next to her is nicely sealed close.

The girl has placed the tip of her chopsticks in her mouth, and then she removes the sticks, chewing on the food in her mouth. After swallowing it, she lets out a sigh of pleasure. Then the girl has noticed me staring at her. Smiling, she waves at me, signaling me to come over to her. After a millisecond of hesitation, I walk towards her, reaching her spot right near the tree she sits by. Grabbing the bento that is next to her, neatly closed and wrapped, the girl hands it over to me.

"This is for you," she informs me with a polite smile. All I could do is stare at her in shock.

"Aren't you going to eat it?" I ask her. I don't want to accept it without knowing she might still be hungry enough to eat her second box of food. The girl simply shakes her head.

"I made too much. I was too happy when I was cooking today. Not only did I made so much for myself, I had also messed up a meal meant for someone I care for earlier," the girl rubs her head in embarrassment when she made that last comment. Since she might continue to insist I take her second bento, I give in and accept it, thanking her.

Seating myself next to her, I open the bento and my eyes take in on what is inside. There is onigiri, sashimi, tako sausage, curry, and key lemon pie, and they all appear to be very well made.

"You made this?" I question.

"Yep!" the girl smiles at me. Staring at the meal, I grab the chopsticks that were packed inside and grab one of the little sausages. Bringing it to my mouth, I chew on the food and then swallow it.

"It's so good!" I cheer.

"Thank you!" she responds to me with a huge grin on her face.

I continue to eat the food in the girl's spare bento. Soon, all the sausage is eaten. Then I have gobbled up the onigiri. After that, I went and eat the sashimi and curry. Placing the chopsticks aside, I take out a fork that is also packed inside and went to eat the pie with it. In minutes, the pie is gone, and I finish everything that was inside the bento.

"Thank you for the meal," I thank the girl.

"You're welcome," she responds happily. "My name is Shirayuki."

"I'm Yomi," I tell her with a smile. After bowing to her and thanking her, she and I bid farewell and I wonder off.

Shirayuki has been the fourth girl I met today. I wonder if there will be more interesting people to meet today.


	5. What? Thirteen Sisters?

I’m alone in the park. I swing back and forth on the playground swingset, reaching the sky with my legs. It’s been quite a while, but I’m enjoying myself here. The park is rather peaceful during the late afternoon, I believe around 16:00 now. No one is here, allowing me to be in peace.

My view has been consistent, switching between the vast blue sky with the trees and the ground covered in mulch. With the gorgeous views, I continue swinging without a single care. I couldn’t care to really focus on the leaves dancing with the wind or the birds soaring in the sky.

Then, the view changes. I see a girl standing next to a tree, her eyes staring directly at me. The scenery changes as I swing, and when I look back to the trees, she’s no longer there. Then, with no warning, the wind picks up, pushing me harshly. In shock, my fingers lessen their grip on the swing’s chains, which I quickly discover is a mistake of mine. The harsh winds pushes my body off the swings, and my arms reach too late to try to grab the chains. I shut my eyes tight, waiting for the fall to end...

But the harsh landing never came.

Upon realizing I’m no longer falling, I open my eyes, surprised to see the same girl standing above my face. With her purple hair tied up in a messy bun and dressed in a black jacket over an ebony green shirt with a red colour tie over it and a plain white skirt, she looks down at me with a soft smile.

"Sometimes, the wind likes to play tricks," she softly whispers, her smile never leaving her face. I stared at her, unable to say anything. Keeping our eyes locked, we continue to keep each other in our gaze for several minutes. Looking into her violet orbs, I find myself lost and in a daze. I’m feeling as if f I had been in this very same position in the past with her.

This is the first time I have met her though.

The moment I blink, I reopen my eyes, and the sky comes to my view. I sit up and observe my surroundings. Where did she go? I don’t see her around anymore. Was I dreaming? Did I imagine her? 

I wonder…

"Aria's umbrella!"

A timid, childish voice cries out, snapping me from my thoughts. The wind picks up again, and I spot a yellow umbrella dancing with the wind as I look up. Standing up, I follow the direction to where the umbrella was heading. The wind begins to die down as I continue walking, and the umbrella slowly falls towards the ground. As it comes closer, I extend my arm out, my hand grabbing onto the handle of the umbrella. The wind suddenly picks up, attempting to drag the umbrella away again.

Keeping a tight grip on the handle of yellow umbrella, I continue to hold on to it with both of my hands, refusing to release my grip on it. The wind continues to breeze by in a harsh manner. Not wanting to lose to it, I continue holding on to the umbrella for another minute as the wind continues to blow by. My locks and the skirt of my dress I wear had dances slightly with the wind. My bare feet struggles to keep contact with the ground, and my thin body has been threatened to be taken with the wind.

Finally, the wind slowly comes to a halt. As it slows down, the balls of my feet are able to make contact with the dirt again. My dress has fallen, no longer picked up by the wind, and lands softly right above my knees. My dark hair falls to my face, no longer rising up. Realizing the wind has gone and wouldn’t come again, I slowly bring the umbrella down, closer to me. Once I lower it, I twirl a bit, letting the umbrella rest on my shoulder and shielding my head from the rays of the sun.

Then I see her for a second time. Not the girl around my age that I met a few minutes ago, but the small child in yellow I had seen on the day I had arrived to this island. That same little girl stands there, her hat once again covering her eyes, and only the lower half of her face was visible. Like the first time I had seen her, the girl has a small smile on her face.

As quickly as I have seen her, she vanishes the very second afterwards. Standing there, I stare at where the child in a yellow dress and hat once was at, wondering if I have been dreaming of her again. Soon, I realize it’s probably best not to think so much about it. After all, I still have to return the umbrella to its owner.

When I turn around, a camera instantly comes to view. The moment I notice it right in front of me, the light flashes. In response to the sudden flash to my vision, I shut my eyes tightly.

"Check!"

Slowly opening one eye, instead of seeing the green camera, I spy its owner. The face of a young girl with chestnut hair, a mischievous smile on her face, was staring right into my orbs.

"You are so cool!" The words instantly flow out of her mouth. "How nice of you to go and save Aria's umbrella during such awful weather," she continues and then, she quickly brought her camera up. Another flash of light came right afterwards, catching me off guard again.

"Why?" I begin my question. "Why take a picture of me?"

"I want to remember today," she responds with her cheerful smile.

"Yotsuba!"

A feminine, mature voice cries out a name. The young girl in front of me turns and waves to the one who owns the voice. Looking past her, I see two more girls walking towards us. One girl appears to be around my height. She has long, violet hair tied up in a ponytail and matching color eyes. Dressed in pink and purple clothes typically worn in older times in Japan, the girl resembles a traditional Japanese woman. I assume the voice had come from her.

The other girl next to her is quite small in height, most likely a child who is slightly taller than Hinako yet shorter than Kaho and Shirayuki. This girl is entirely in different shades of blue with white ribbons decorating her. Her hair and eyes are bright blue, and two locks of her front hair hang freely and curled while the rest have been tied up on the back of her head. A darker blue ribbon that matches the dress she is wearing is worn on her head, and it is accompanied with white ribbons. The girl's navy blue dress covers nearly her entire body as it is long sleeved with slight puffs on her shoulders and reaches down to her feet. Beautiful ribbons are decorated on her dress.

Once the two reaches me and the unknown girl who I assume is Yotsuba, the small girl gapes at my umbrella and pointed at it.

"Aria's umbrella," she mutters. Realizing it belongs to her, I walk up to the small girl, Aria, and I hand her the umbrella I saved. Smiling cheerfully, she grabs the umbrella and holds it gently. "Thank you… Nee-ya," she slowly thanks me in a soft spoken voice. The older girl next to her smiles at me.

"Thank you for retrieving Aria's umbrella," she thanks me. "The wind came out of nowhere and blew it right out of her hands."

Then the brunette unexpectedly pats my back rather harshly. "That's why I told her she was cool," she smiles.

"Yotsuba," the violet haired girl begins to speak to her. "You shouldn't act so casual towards those you never met before."

"Haruka," Yotsuba responds back to the older girl. "This girl and I already met, so I don't need to act formal anymore." Then she turns to me. "What is your name?"

"You say such things, yet you don't even know her name yet," Haruka mutters, though a smile remains evident on her face.

"I am Yomi," I answer a little quietly.

"Yomi!" Yotsuba cheers. "Nice to meet you, Yomi! I am Yotsuba, checky!" The chestnut haired girl introduces herself. "I came from England, and I recently moved here with my two sisters." She grabs me and looks at the two girls, pointing at the older one so I can view her.

"She is Haruka," she informs me. "She is my older sister from Germany."

"Nice to meet you," Haruka greets to me and bows. I bow back politely in response. Yotsuba then points to the smaller girl, leading me to stare at her.

"And she is Aria," Yotsuba tells me. "She is my little sister from France." Aria simply waves at me with a small smile, and I return the gesture.

"Oh, Haruka, what time is it?" Yotsuba asks the older girl. Haruka ponders for a bit, then realization hits her.

"I think we have to get going," Haruka tells Yotsuba. Then she looks at me. "I'm sorry Yomi, but my sisters and I have to get going. There is a place we have to be at," she tells me apologetically.

I simply smile and nod. "It's fine. You three should get going." They smile at me and continue on, waving farewell to me. Once the three had vanish to the distance, I realize that I have been left alone in the park. Looking up at the sky, I realize that the sun is setting.

I should head home. I have been away for a long time now. In seconds, my legs started to carry me home.

~~~

Once I reach the Welcome House, the sun has set, and the world outside is dark.

"Tadaima," I call out when I enter the house. No response. I figure that would happen, though I wish I'd get an "Okaeiri" from one of my four sisters. Shrugging it off, I walk towards the dining room, the place where my sisters have clinged onto my brother who I despise so much, which is why I left this place in the morning and didn't return until now.

When I have opened the doors to the dining room, however, I meet such a pleasant sight. My four sisters, clinging onto my brother, exactly what I would love to see... Great. Before I got the chance to leave, strange, unfamiliar sounds echoed in my ears. I find myself unable to move, and looking at my sisters and brother, I realize that they aren't clinging onto him out of adoration, or obsession, whichever.

Now I wish I have came home sooner.

Then suddenly, out of nowhere, the windows up high on the second level of the room open, and a familiar face appears.

"Yahoo, Anii!"

Anii?

"Anii?" My sisters cry in confusion.

Before I could even process what Mamoru had just said, the hinges of one of the windows break off and the window falls before Mamoru could catch it.

"Anii!" she cries with worry. My sisters and brother begin to panic. Unsure of what I can even do, I start in panic. Very quickly, the window lands on the table, sliced in half and far away from my sisters. Suddenly, a figure lands right in front of me.

Haruka stands up from her position. "Oh, what a disgraceful act I have done before my Anigimi-sama."

"Anigimi-sama?" questions my sisters, once again in confusion. At least I am not the only one who is confused.

Suddenly, before I could even think about the events that just happened again, the sound of growling comes to my ears. Hearing it from behind me, I turn around. Michael comes to my sight, and then I spy Marie.

"Good evening, Aniue-sama," she quietly greets my brother… wait…

"Aniue-sama?" Once again, my sisters ask with just as much confusion as before.

Marie then stares at the bone Michael has been holding. "Oh, my bow became undone," she comments. A thread that has been tied around the bone appears to have gotten loose. My brother takes a deep breath and sighs.

Then light begins to shine on the table. All eyes turn to the light that has grown bigger. In seconds, it disappears and a figure covered in a cape and witch hat appeared. Then, the person strips off the cape and hat and reveals herself. It’s the same girl I saw earlier today and the only one I didn't get to know since she just appeared and quickly disappeared.

"Hi Ani-kun," casually slipped out of her mouth. "You appear to be well."

"Ani-kun?"

~~~

"What!?" My brother cries out in shock, and honestly, I can't blame him. He, my four sisters, and I had just learned now that Mamoru, Haruka, Marie, and Chikage were our sisters. Fantastic, I have eight sisters now… but when I talked to Haruka earlier with Yotsuba and Aria, Yotsuba had told me they were sisters, so would Yotsuba and Aria be my sisters too?

Speaking of those two, where are they at now? I would go up to Haruka and ask, except once again, no one seems to know I am there. After all, she is talking to Karen now. Well, all of my sisters are talking to each other, getting to know one another. Karen and Haruka were in a conversation about the things Haruka has learned. Sakuya had asked Chikage about her magic act. Kaho and Mamoru engage themselves in sports talk, and Marie allows Hinako to play with Michael.

I continue to watch them converse with each other. I don't feel like moving out of the chair I am sitting on, and I have absolutely no motivation to return to my room.

"Oh yeah," my brother recalls something. "Did any of you make breakfast this morning?" Everyone focuses their entire attention on him.

"No, I did not," Marie responds.

"Nether did I," Mamoru adds.

"I didn't make breakfast," Haruka answers.

Chikage stays silent, but slowly shakes her head, indicating that she didn't make any either. I was confused. I left during breakfast time, so I have no idea what breakfast was.

"Then who made that meal?" My brother mutters.

"Perhaps it was a ghost," Mamoru jokingly comments while skating around.

"Don't joke around at a time like this," my brother murmurs quietly, so Mamoru doesn’t hear his words. Seriously, what happened in breakfast? Maybe I shouldn't have left this morning out of anger.

Then strange noises echo in the room. Coming from a room in the second room, the noise continues on. Eventually, my sisters begs and relies on my brother to go and check on the noise, and as much of a chicken he is, he volunteers to do so, although that might be because he really has no choice.

I'm curious to what the sounds are.

~~~

In the end, I have twelve, or thirteen, sisters. I was right in that Aria and Yotsuba are my sisters, but I never suspected Rinrin and Shirayuki to be my little sisters too. In addition, they are also the ones who made breakfast. While I still have no idea what on earth happened, I feel it is best if I didn't know what had happened with breakfast.

I am still questioning over whether Mami is really my sister or not, given she really hesitated when Wataru spotted her in the mansion, and after Wataru blindly concluded that Mami was another sister, she played along.

All I have done throughout this strangely exciting night was sit by my sisters and took a photo with them all, even if they didn't notice I was there. Right now, I am not concerned that they didn't realize I was there. Today had been full of excitement and adventure. Sleep is all I need now. It is time for bed after all.


	6. First Day of School with Them

Days pass on, and my sisters continue to cling onto my brother. As they have constantly bothered him, we begin to create a chart so we know which sister can be with our dear brother. Of course, through all of that, yours truly had been left out.

Thankfully, I’m not entirely left out. After they finish spending time with Wataru, they would spend time with me. My time throughout the next days have been consumed with my sisters wanting to be near me. In all honestly, I enjoy being near each girl. As they days go on, I got to know some of my sisters and find myself wanting to bond with them more. Each girl is interesting and unique in their own ways. 

By now, I am glad to have really come to this island at this point. Now if only they would stop wishing their brother was there with them forever…

The days go by so fast, and now the first day of school has arrived. I couldn’t lie to myself, but I have been looking forward to this, despite not having attend school for several years. There is only one school on the island, so I can still be with my sisters even in school. 

Only problem, however, is they rather be with him instead of their own elder sister, his twin. On the early morning of school, I receive a nice glimpse of his face when he finally realized that he is still going to be with the girls in school.

He did not want to be near them.

Why would these girls still wish to be by his side?

He clearly doesn't want them with him at all.

~~~

The first half of the school day has gone by at a lightening speed, and before I realize it, break time arrives. I have been placed in the same class as my sisters Sakuya and Chikage, as there is only two or three classes for each grade. My brother is in the other class, so I don't have to worry about him taking the attention of Sakuya and Chikage away from me. I’ll admit I’m sounding selfish, but I want some attention too…

Roaming around the corridors of the school, I pass by the cheerleaders who are having their first practice on the grass outside of school. Thanks to the great invention of boredom, I find myself watching them for a good thirty seconds before boredom strikes again. I turn around, ready to leave, but not before my eyes catch a similar girl, one who has fallen.

"Kaho!" I cry out.

Cute, clumsy Kaho falls over nothing, but she smiles nonetheless when she sees me. Getting up, she run straight over to me.

"Onee-chama," Kaho begins to converse with me. "I joined the cheerleading club." With a smile on her face, Kaho cheerfully informs me of her joining the team. "I'll practice very hard!"

"That's good, Kaho," I smile at her. "Good luck this year on the club."

"I will!" she perks up. "I want to be able to cheer for you Onee-chama."

"Newcomer!" One of the members, I assume the captain of the team, calls out, earning Kaho's attention.

"Coming!" Kaho screams, and turning, she rushes back to the club. I go to turn around and continue walking when Kaho suddenly calls for my attention. Turning back, I see Kaho jumping up, her arms extend to the sky while holding tightly to her pompoms.

"Do your best, Onee-chama!"

Smiling, I wave at her. I hear the club members snickering a bit. Perhaps they assume it’s embarrassing, having a klutz like Kaho cheer like that to me, I’m really happy. I couldn’t be embarrassed. It feels nice to have a younger sister who, despite her constant falling over, will cheer for me through every obstacle that I cross in my life.

Walking away from the cheerleading club, I head towards the back of the school. Once I reach a pillar and turn right, a certain chef with her bow on her head and a box in her hand comes to my sight. The moment I spot her, Shirayuki has seen me too. Smiling, she begins to talk to me.

"Nee-sama, sorry to keep you waiting. I have your special box lunch for today." In her hands, there is a box filled with lunch she made earlier. "On today's menu is Princess's specially made viper heavenly style in blueberry sauce." Honestly, that doesn't sound very appetizing, especially since according to my knowledge, a viper is a snake, but knowing how delicious Shirayuki's meals are (excluding that morning when her breakfast hot soup, if that was even supposed to be it, didn't exactly go well), I decide to go try it anyway. Grabbing the box from her hand, I thank her and open it, grabbing one of the vipers. It falls into my mouth, and I chew it, tasting the delicious sensation in my mouth.

"Oh, this is really good," I tell her in surprise. This is another meal that Shirayuki made excellently.

"Really? Thank you!" My little sister smiles at me. Shirayuki is one of my youngest sisters who enjoys cooking and other culinary activities. Whether it's simple cake or extraordinary meals consisting of meat or grains, Shirayuki manages to cook delicious meals at the end.

Departing from her, I keep the meal she made for me close by, continuing to eat the food one by one.

~~~

Sitting on the steps of the school, I watch the students play ball games and other activities on the court in front of me. Having finished with my meal, I’m unsure of what else to do while break goes on. I remain sitting on the steps, watching people play, gossip, or whatever they were doing. As I sit quietly, I feel her presence nearby. I’m not psychic or anything, but I could obviously tell she’s nearby. 

"You have been following me for a while now," my voice rings out, loud enough for her to hear. I turn my head to the top of the stairs, my eyes staring at a seemingly lonely pillar. "Is that right, Haruka?"

Behind the pillar, a familiar girl inheriting long, purple hair tied in a ponytail pokes her head out. "Anegimi-sama remembered my name," she begins with her sweet, mature voice. Haruka is my sister from Germany, who is fond of Japanese culture and currently studying it.

"Is there something you need, Haruka?" I ask her. Surely, she must have needed something, hence following and watching me the entire break so far.

Haruka smiles embarrassingly. "I wanted to be with my Anegimi-sama." Of course, in the end, she wants to be with me. I feel a sense of pleasantness and satisfaction in hearing this. I turn around, hiding my smile and feeling a bit bashful.

I’m quite selfish, aren’t I? All I want is attention from my family.

"Look out!" Haruka screams. Before I even realize what was going on, Haruka's body crashes into mine, throwing me off the step I have been resting on. Falling to the dirt, Haruka rests on top of me. Her chest covers my entire face, leaving me with very little air to breathe.

"Um… Haruka," my voice tries to break through her breasts, and quickly, I grow desperate for oxygen. "Your… chest…" Finally, Haruka gets off of me, allowing me a chance to breathe.

"I am sorry," Haruka begins. "It had happened in an instant, and then I had done something disgraceful to Anegimi-sama, but I can not believe that the day came where I can protect my sister." Throughout her words, a soccer ball lightly bounces by between Haruka and I. Watching it, I realize that it was heading towards me, ready to hit me. I wonder if being hit by the ball would hurt more than being suddenly tackled by my own sister.

"Thank you, Haruka," I softly tell her.

A few boys run out of the courtyard, calling out to us. "Sorry! Can you kick the ball back to us?" Getting myself up, I pick up the soccer ball, not wasting time to set it on the ground and kick it back to them. I help my sister Haruka up, and we smile at each other before something captures her attention from behind me.

"Oh, it's Anigimi-sama!" With those words cried out, she rushes towards the courtyard. Turning, I spot my brother running around in the courtyard. Walking towards Haruka, I decide to keep watch of him.

For about twenty seconds, he runs by himself, before Mamoru, my athletic younger sister, suddenly appears, running right by Wataru's side. After a few seconds of conversing with each other, Mamoru suddenly sprints off, having run past Haruka and I. Wataru slows down, watching Mamoru run off in a heavily quick pace. Right afterwards, Yotsuba, my cheerful sister who is fond of mysteries, appears entirely out of nowhere. She begins to freely converse with Wataru while jumping with glee. My brother begins to jump with her, although appearing to be very confused with her words. Yamada the creep then suddenly appears, standing right in front of Yotsuba while Wataru jumps away from them. Soon, Wataru turns and begins to talk to a girl with raven hair. In seconds, the girl collapsed, and I watch as my stupid brother runs off.

Immediately concerned for the girl who fell, I dash towards her, going around the fence. Once I reach her, I discover that Wataru had abandoned Marie, my dear sister who has a poor constitution. Ignoring the anger boiling in my stomach over my stupid brother’s poor decision, I gently picked up Marie’s body while smiling at Michael. Dogs aren’t supposed to be on school campus, but it seems he has been watching over Marie. Almost as quickly as I ran to her, I dash off, calling for help as I hold my little sister.

"Where is the school nurse's office!?"

~~~

"I am sorry. I will be alright if I rest for a little."

Marie told me those words before she drifted off into slumber in the nurse's office. Standing outside the office, I sigh, needing to catch my breath after running all the way here. I turn my head to the side, only to catch the sight of my stupid brother on the ground. As much as I wanted to smack him for leaving behind Marie, I notice he isn’t alone. A giant robot and Rinrin, my sister who loved to create with her mechanics, stand right next to him. I stand nearby, seeing Rinrin talking to Wataru for a few seconds before she posed with her robot. Wataru eventually takes out his wallet, allowing the robot to take money out of it. Standing on the foot of her machine, Rinrin happily thanks Wataru, and the robot glides away. The last I hear from Rinrin is "I love you!"

Looking back at where my brother was at, I find Sakuya, my sister with a love for fashion, walking towards Wataru. Helping him up, Sakuya chatters for a bit before she begins to step closer to him with a mischievous smile on her face. Continuing to talk to him as if there is nothing wrong, Sakuya than steps away and runs off.

"Just kidding!" I hear her cry out. "Onii-chan and I are tied by the red string of fate, so we will never be separated!"

Honestly, of all my thirteen little sisters, I feel Sakuya might like my brother a little too much…

After the event, I hear Wataru complaining a bit, comparing everything that had happen to him in school as the exact same as being at home. Just as I thought, he really doesn't want to be with his sisters after all. Before I could go and attack him for it, I hear whispering from right in front of me.

"I envy Wataru."  
"Why?"  
"He has such cute little sisters."  
"Really? If I were him, I'd get out of this mess."  
"But aren't you his little sister too?"

Looking ahead, I saw Yamada stalking on Wataru along with Mami. Mami is my little sister too, but unlike the rest of my sisters, she doesn't talk to me much. Actually, she doesn't interact with the rest much, just like Chikage. Both of them were very reserved unlike the rest of my sisters, yet I had actually spent some time with Chikage. I still didn't know much about Mami, and at the moment, I don't think she or Yamada noticed that I was right here at all.

As Yamada introduced himself to Mami, I spot another figure walking down the stairs. I walk towards the stairway, right next to the two who were talking. I can easily tell Yamada doesn't notice me at all, much like my brother. Honestly, I rather he didn't pay any attention to me though, as I feel really creepy vibes from him.

Walking down the stairs, I see my sister, Karen. She is mature, sweet, kind, and talented. Karen is so much like a sweet little sister. When she reaches the end of the stairs and turns to take the stairs right next by, I receive a good glimpse of her face.

She must have heard him.

~~~

Evening arrives, ending the first day of school. Instead of going straight home, I continue to walk around the building, finding myself lost and interested in everything. After walking through the hallways for a long while, I notice the sun beginning to set and decide to head home. Stepping outside of the school building, I spy a familiar blonde haired little girl.

Walking towards her, I smile and begin to question her. "What are you doing still here in school?"

Hinako turns to me and smiles cheerfully. "Hina has been waiting for you because she wanted to go home with her," she tells me in the third person. Before I could smile even more, a voice cries out from behind me.

"Nee-ya!"

Turning, I see another familiar little girl running after me.

"Aria," I acknowledge her as she runs towards me. I didn’t think she’s still in school too. Running to my side, she tugs on to my sleeve.

"Nee-ya," she softly whispers.

"Oh, I envy you, Aria." Hinako cries out. "Onee-tama, can I hold onto your other hand?" She asks me innocently.

"Of course you can," I respond, smiling at the young girl. Hina cheers and grabs onto my free hand. The three of us begin to walk away from the building, heading home. It’s just the three of us, my two youngest sisters and me.

Once we reach the town and walks by, Hinako begins to happily talk about her day.  
"In first grade today, Hina drew a picture of a teddy bear," she tells me in a happy tone. "My teddy bear was really cute," she adds with a smile. "Oh, that reminds me! Next time, Hina will draw a picture of a teddy bear for Onee-tama too!" I couldn't help but smile at the little girl's cheerfulness. Hinako is my youngest sister and one of the most cheerful ones. Always full of energy, Hinako wants someone to play with her, and often, I have been victim to this. I really didn't mind though.

When we got on the escalators, Aria notice something on my sleeve. 

"Nee-ya," she softly gains my attention. Following her eyes, I find dirt smudge on my sleeve. I’m not sure how it got dirty in the first place, but I release Hina's hand and tried to wipe away the dirt. Quickly, Aria grabs a handkerchief and begins to wipe away the dirt with it.

"Thank you," I begin to thank the young girl.

"Good job, Aria!" Hinako cheers. Aria continues to wipe my sleeve as we continue down the escalator. Unlike Hinako, Aria is rather slow paced. She is my soft-spoken little sister. I notice when I spend time with her, time seems to slow down, and it feels like I have gone to a completely different world with Aria.

The walk continues on as the sun slowly sets. I find myself at complete peace with Hinako and Aria. I couldn’t stop admiring their cuteness and innocence. I truly am glad to have come to the island, even if it had been against my own will. The memory of how Wataru felt, however, comes back to mind. I keep a smile on my face while talking to cheerful Hinako and quiet Aria, not wanting to let them see my worried self. How can Wataru want to go back to Tokyo so badly? Why does he not enjoy being with these girls like I do? In fact, why do they want his attention much more than mine? How are they blind to his constant whining of wanting to return?

I guess it doesn't matter now.

Eventually, Aria, Hinako, and I reach our home. Chikage sits in front of our home. She has a rather aloof nature, and she is fond of magic and spent her free time studying the arts of spells.

"Ane-kun," holding a crystal ball in her hand, Chikage begins to whisper to me. "You have a dark spell casted deep inside you. Shall I give you medicine for it?" The three of us stand in front of her as she said it. I simply stare at Chikage. "A medicine that will make you sleep so deeply, you will never wake up again…"

Chikage, why? Just why? I have no words for this. I really don't. Laughing nervously, I mutter out, "No thanks, Chikage." Soon, I heard voices from behind. Turning my head, behind me are the rest of my sisters.

"Tonight, we are having curry again," Sakuya informs me. Hearing those words just made my day. I absolutely love curry! My sisters begin to converse and I join in, adding to the merry mood.

All thoughts of my brother will wait. Right now, I want to spend my time with the girls. After all, while I am here, he can go ahead and spend his time alone, as he had always beg to do.

I don't need him here at all. If only these girls could just forget about him and pay more attention to me…

Heh… I’m so selfish. I used to want all of his attention too...


	7. The Early Dawn of Tears

The early dawn hasn't arrived yet, and here I am, lying in bed, wide awake. Somehow, I had woken up too early for my liking, and I couldn't bring myself to go back to sleep. How can I? I’m not tired... Lying in bed, I continue to stare at the ceiling for long minutes that pass by. Silence echoes throughout the entire house.

Then a creek of the front door barely reaches my ears. It’s a faint sound, but I still hear it. Curious, I force myself out of my bed and walk towards my window. Pushing the curtain, I take a glance at the outside world.

There, walking away with bags packed on his back, is my brother, Minakami Wataru.

Standing there, looking through the window, I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. He’s leaving. My brother must have gotten too tired of dealing with my sisters. Why? They just wanted to spend time with him. What’s wrong with that? Seriously, he is so obsessed with his previous lifestyle, so he couldn't handle the change at all. Rather than attempting to make himself at home, he's running away…

That means I can have the girls all to myself. Realizing that, a strong feeling of joy and satisfaction grows inside of me as I lie back down on my bed. Closing my eyes, I continued to think, with Wataru gone, I can spend time with my sisters all I want without him in the way. This time, they can pay attention to me and only me. I felt pure bliss when that knowledge came to mind.

But they really did love my brother…

With him absent, would they really be happy with just me and no brother in sight?  
…  
…  
…  
Should I go after him?

Should I just leave him be?

Perhaps they will be happy with just me and only me.

Or maybe they will keep a gloomy atmosphere until they get their brother back.

How come they failed to notice that they have driven him over the edge? If it weren't for them, he might have stayed with us, but it wasn’t their fault. They never had a brother before.

Even then, I still hate him. Wataru leaving opens a door of happiness for me. I don't need him around. Wataru’s a jerk who refused to pay attention to his own twin sister. In addition, he refused to bond with his thirteen other sisters. Why should he stay? What right does he have to stay anyway? He's just one waste of humanity that no one will care for anyway. Even if my sisters do get upset over him ditching them, I'm sure they will get over it quickly. Maybe they will even realize that he isn't even worth their time. If that happens, then they can forget all about him and focus all their attention on me. I honestly would enjoy that. None of us even needed Wataru in the first place.

'But he is your brother.'

My eyes open immediately. That voice, it’s the same voice I heard from my first night here. Why am I hearing it again? Am I having another fever?

'You know that his departure will crush the girls.'

Who is this? How did this person even know so much about my family? I don't even want to have that grim reminder that I’m blood related to him either. Maybe this voice is just a delusion of mine. Perhaps, if I attempt to sleep it off, I won't hear it again. I close my eyes tightly and roll to my side, gripping my bed sheets.

'You still want his attention, don't you?'

Shut up! I don't want to know anymore of it.

'Do you really hate your brother that much?'

My eyes open quickly, and my body quickly jerks up. Did I really hate him that much? Of course I do! Where has he been during the past five and the half years when I have tried so hard to get his attention!?

'Did you think that maybe there is a reason to why he hasn't talked to you in so long?'

A reason… Jiiya… Jiiya said the same thing! That day, when I was ten and waiting for my brother to come out and play, Jiiya told me that there is a reason to why he wouldn't talk to me. He had also told me that one day, I will find the answer when I am older.

Leaving my bed, I look out the window once more, and my brother is no longer in sight. Running out of my room, down the hallways, and eventually out of the house, I run as fast as I can go, hoping to find him.

X

Throughout the past hundred minutes, or even the past hour or two, I have searched all over town. The boy is nowhere near the town or parks, and I keep searching, desperately trying to find him. Knowing he isn’t in town, it means he had reached the port by now. Uncaring that my bare feet have become sore and my legs are ready to drop, I continue to run, as fast as I can to the port. 

I won't stop myself from reaching him.

I must bring him back, just so my sisters can be happy. I also must find the answer to why he won't talk to me anymore. It’s a job I know I won’t find easily. How on earth can I find out why my brother is shunning me when I can't even communicate to him?

Running closer to the port, my breathing fastens, and my legs grow more tired. My footing becomes clumsy. I begin to trip over myself, and then do so again each time I stand back up. My body grows sore, and yet, I continue to run. No matter how much pain I feel, I will continue. I need to reach him.

Once I reach the port, my body collapsed to the ground right next to the cliff. My head hanged off, and my hair danced lightly to the weak wind. Panting heavily, I regain my breath. I was never athletic, and I have proven myself to not being physically strong. For a good several minutes, I lie on the ground and breathe heavily. Once my breathing returns to normal, I pick up my head and glance downward.

I found him.

He’s sitting alone in the port. The feeling of accomplishment begins to burst throughout my entire body, much more than that feeling of joy I had earlier. Getting up from the ground, I walk around the cliff, heading to the end of the land and reaching the port. Once my bare feet made contact with the yellow pavement, I stop and turn to the male figure sitting on the ground.

I was right. He was really trying to leave. The sheet lying right next to him, the water bottles tied together to form a kickboard, and the goggles worn on his face are proof of it. Slowly, I walk towards him. He quietly sits there, a gloomy atmosphere surrounding him. Once I stop myself from walking any further, I stand next to him. I sigh as I look down on him.

"Nii-chan," I meekly call out to him. He doesn’t flinch at all. Perhaps he didn’t hear me, or maybe he doesn't want to hear me, or I was too quiet. "Nii-chan," my voice comes out, slightly louder than the first time. He still doesn't move. "Nii-chan!" I scream. I want him to hear me, but maybe that won't happen. Perhaps I won't get his attention this easily.

"Onii-chan," a soft, feminine voice whispers behind me. Recognizing the owner of the voice, I didn’t bother turning to see her. If Wataru won't pay attention to me, then he can at least pay attention to her.

"Excuse me," Karen's voice continue to call to Wataru. "Onii-chan…" Time seems to have left standing still, and Karen and I remain standing, continuing to stare at Wataru, who stares at the ocean, deep in thought. The shadows created by the rising sun linger gently on the pavement. As if we are frozen in time, not one of us move an inch.

Then finally, Wataru has spoken. 

"Leave me alone."

He stands up at last. Grabbing his bag, he walks right past me, never bothering to care that I’m here. Turning my head, I witness him repeating his action to Karen, who is looking at our brother with a solemn look on her face. Turning around, Karen begins to walk right after him. Without a second thought, I follow them. The three of us slowly walk up the pavement of the dock.

"Why," my brother begins speaking with a dull voice. "Why do all of them try to do so much for me?" Wasn't it obvious, my dear brother? It is because we- er, I mean they, love you. I'm sure family does stuff like this. "Just because you are my younger sisters… you're overdoing it." Okay, I can't deny that. Perhaps they were a bit clingy to him. Still…

"Because," Karen's soft voice begins to answer him. "I don't want Onii-chan to dislike me." Wataru then stops himself from walking any further, leading both me and Karen to stop as well. 

'I don't want Onii-chan to dislike me.' 

Karen is reminding me of my childhood self, after Wataru began to shun me. All those nights, I had believed that Wataru had probably turned against me and disliked me. I couldn’t stop myself from sympathizing with Karen. She wanted our brother to love her. I wanted the same thing back then.

Standing right in front of our brother are two arrow signs. The one pointing to the right reads "Welcome House." I'm sure Wataru isn’t going to return home, at least not yet.

As I thought, Wataru goes left, heading to East 1st Block. Karen and I stand for a moment and simply watch him drift away from us. Finally earning the courage to go on, Karen follows him again, and I mimic her. The three of us walk silently through the town. Only footsteps can be heard as we walk forward with no destination in our minds. It’s a silent morning with no one awake but the three of us.

"When I was younger, I always wanted brothers and sisters." Karen begins to speak. As I continued walking, I simply stare at the back of Karen's head. She didn't know we existed back then?

"I was always alone." If I couldn't get any more reminders of my own self, Karen just went and done that. Right now, hearing Karen is reminding me of my own self even more. She was lonely. I was lonely in the past too. Until now, I have been believing that Karen was very different from me. She is so kind and talented with the piano. She knows how to converse with the girls very well and isn't afraid to speak her mind. I, on the other hand, have social issues due to shutting myself from society for a little over two years. Even though I am able to talk to my sisters well enough, I still couldn't confront others. Despite acting nice, I know I can be bratty and malicious towards people. That had been developed after I was kicked out of Wataru's life.

Now I know that Karen and I are more similar than I thought we were.

"Then I found out I have a big brother." Karen continues, her head facing the ground. "I was happy." I remember how happy she had looked when she rescued Wataru from drowning the very moment he and I arrived to the island. "I wanted to see you as soon as possible." I remember how friendly she was to him when they first talk. He didn't know yet that she was our little sister. "I'm sure the others were too." My mind drifts to that night, when four of my sisters were happily talking to Wataru. "I have been waiting for the spring of this year to come."

"But you must have been surprised to find that I have that many sisters," Wataru comments, his voice containing no emotion.

"I was at first," Karen tells him. They didn't know each other until recently. None of the girls, except a few, had known we were related until around a week ago or longer. I can imagine how surprised they were then they discovered we were all related.

"I thought, 'I have not only an older brother, but sisters too.'" Karen then looks towards the sky. The sky is changing its colors from night to early morning, and the clouds are drifting by. "What I was happiest about," Karen goes on slowly, "was being able to be with Onii-chan." The three of us keep walking. "That's why I was so happy and then I have gotten too overjoyed." Wataru keeps walking, not saying another word. I follow behind, listening closely to my younger sister's words.

"We only tried to please big brother… but I guess, it was annoying to you."

I heard it. I heard the sound of a heart threatening to break in that voice of hers.

Soon, Wataru stops walking. Instead of stopping herself, Karen continues until she reaches him and holds him from behind. I cease walking, standing a good distance from them, but close enough to hear them.

"It can't be…" my brother said. "It's a dead end."

A sign reading "dead end" keeps him from walking further. 

"I'm sorry, Onii-chan," I hear Karen’s voice break slightly. For minutes that pass on, we stand still, and I continue to stare at the two. Emotions have come, rushing through my face. On one hand, I feel sympathy and sadness. Karen has a similar childhood to mine, and all she wanted was to spend time with Wataru. On the other hand, I feel anger and vengeance. Karen is so sad, and the one who caused it is Wataru, the same boy who created my deep pain five and a half years ago.

After a feeling of eternity passes on, Karen finally breaks away from Wataru, and after a few seconds, she turns around with her hands covering her face. She departs from Wataru, and as she walks past me, I catch the sight of the tear drops falling down on her face.

How could he…

Blood boiling in my body, I walk towards my brother. Reaching an excellent point, I lift my leg up and raise it straight towards the area where the sun doesn't shine. My brother began to kneel in pain as my bare foot coldly and cruelly inflicts pain in him. Feeling a small sense of satisfaction, I turn and run off, catching up to Karen and leaving him behind.

Once I got to her, I quickly embrace her in my arms, stopping her from walking. 

"It's okay, Karen," I whisper in her ears, stroking her brown locks. "As long as I am here, you don't need him." Continuing to soothe the crying girl, I went on. "Onee-chan is right here, so don't cry."

The two of us stand in silence. "Onee-chan," I heard her soft, quiet voice. The heartbreak that had been laced in them was gone. "Thank you, onee-chan." Those words soften my anger entirely. This is fine. As long as he isn't around, they have me. Even if they couldn't rely on their big brother, they can still rely on their eldest sister.

"Onii-chan?"

Onii-chan? I look up, and right next to us… is Wataru. I stare at him in shock as hee turns to Karen.

"Shall we go back home?"

He changed his mind? Did he really? Is he coming back? I release my hold on Karen, and I watch the two of them walk back together. While it hurts to see that in the end, my brother has returned, I found myself at peace, knowing that my sisters won't be so sad now.


End file.
